Ready to welcome the summer with a tavola's flavor? Join us on June 4 to learn how to cook a few items from our menu! Chef Bocik takes a passionate yet casual approach to teaching selected menu items to classes from two to sixteen people or ten to twenty-four people.

From the artist:

My first eighteen years were spent in a beach town in Southern California. My friends were either fellow surfers or Lowriders (who I consider the fine artists of the auto industry). The surfaces and palette I’ve used for 40 years is a direct homage to both influences.

Moving to Chicago for graduate school introduced me to the Chicago Imagists who I’ve just plain stolen from as often as necessary! If you’re gonna steal, steal from the... I’m in love with this city and started calling it my hometown on day one. Sometimes I miss the Pacific, but then the deep dish arrives at the table and that yearning for the ocean evaporates immediately.

My work has involved the same connections and questions for as long as I can remember. I feel I’m doing the same piece in two or three dimensions again and again hoping to figure out what the damn question is! I hope I never get it right, I’ll probably be disappointed. Plus the exploration is too much fun."

First Bites Bash is the official kick-off event for the 9th annual Chicago Restaurant Week, where a tavola restaurant will debut in 2016!

Join us inside the magnificent Great Hall at Chicago Union Station for savory and sweet food tastings where we will be sharing the space with over 60 of Chicago's most celebrated chefs and restaurants.

Toast to the city's culinary scene with beer, wine, and cocktail pairings from Goose Island Beer Company, Terlato Wines International, and several leading spirit partners.

Enjoy all the Italian food you can eat and vote for a tavola to win the title of "The Boss of Sauce" on our 20th Anniversary

The Marianarathon pays homage to our city's rich Italian history while also benefiting 100 Club of Chicago, a civilian organization that provides for the families of first responders who have lost their lives in the line-of-duty.

We will be crushing grapes on our patio with winemaker Greg Fischer for your very own wine

We will make one barrel with juice and grapes that will be good for early drinking. This barrel we will be crushing grapes, mixing the juice and adjusting the sugars (Brix). We will be pitching yeast and adding oak to start the fermentation process. The must will be taken to the winery for fermentation and the wine will be released in March of 2016.

We will also crush another 1000 Ls of Sangiovese, Barbera and Cabernet Sauvignon for a blend that will age at least 1 year in the barrel.

We will have a Grape Stomping Contest that will consist of 4 to 5 vats. Grape stompers will crush grapes for 2 minutes with music. The juice will be measured after stomping and the stomper with the most juice wins!

Barrels, cases, and bottles of a tavola private label wine will be available for you to reserve.